Apparatus for increasing circulation of the scalp



Sept. 8, 1931. c. J.LOWEN 1,821,979

APPARATUS FOR INCREASING CIRCULATION OF THE SCALP Filed Aug. 7, 1930 3mm[%47"Zed o'awem I I W Patented Sept. 8, 1931 CHARLES J. LOWEN, OFDENVER, COLORADO FFICE' APPARATUS r03 INCREASING CIRCULATION OF THESGALP Application filed August 7, 1930. eel-m1 No. 473,540.

r for the best results a vacuum'of about 20 mm of mercury gives the mostdesirable results.

In order to explain this invention so that it can be clearly understoodit is necessary to first-explain more clearly the cause underlying mostbaldness which, in brief, can be ascribed to undernourishment due toinsufficient blood being brought to the top of the scalp. hen peoplereach an age approximately thirty-five years changes take place inthecal iber of the capillaries of the scalp, due in most cases toimproper care, and which produces a retardation of the circulation andcuts down the amount of blood to the scalp. The capillaries are normallysmall and therefore any change that makes them smaller interferesgreatly with the amount of'blood that can flow through them and the hairfollicles are thus undernourished.

- It is evident that if the circulation of blood in the scalp can berestored to normal or increased, the hair follicles that are still alivewill become active and the hair will again grow.

For the purpose of increasing the circulation, various expedients havebeen resorted to, such as massage, the applications of irritating drugsand the use of heat and light waves, but such treatments as a rule haveno permanent effect because they cannot be measured physiologically. Ithas even been proposed to employ a vacuum appliance for increasing thecirculation, but this is not satisfactory unless the vacuum is carefullyregulated in a manner that will hereinafter be fully described and whichregulation forms parts of this invention.

It has been pointed out above that if the veins are compressed so asto'retard the return flow of blood without cutting off the Thisinvention relates to improvements in methods and apparatus for promotingthe growth of hair.

Baldness is quite common among men,

s Whereas it is a rarity among women, showing that it is due to somedifference in the manner of treating the scalp and after a longinvestigation, the cause has been ascribed to the effect that tighthatbands have, of retarding 151 the circulation and cutting off thenutrition that is dependent on the free circulation of blood.

The scalp is supplied with blood through two sets of superificialarteries which are 15 branches of the external carotid artery and whichinclude the superficial temporal artery and its branches and theoccipital artery and its branches. The arteries are connected with theveins by capillaries. The veins, like the arteries, lie on the outsideof the skull. It is evident that if pressure is applied to the skull, asby a too tight hat band, the arteries will be compressed to such anextent that the supply of blood to the scalp will be interfered If itwere possible to apply pressure to the veins without at the same timeapplying pressure to the arteries, the return flow would be retarded andan increased pressure applied to the capillaries that would produce amarked hyperemia which, in turn, would produce an increased nutritionand promote hair growth. Owing to the location of the veins andarteries, it is difficult, if not impossible, to compress the veinswithout at the same time compressing the arteries, but I have found thatif the pressure is carefully regulated so as to permit the arterialblood to flow while applying a retarding force to the return flow, it ispossible to increase the volume in the capillaries and thereby toproduce the desired hyperemia.

Instead of applying pressure by means of a band, somewhat better resultscan be ob- 45 tained by subjecting the scalp to a reduced air pressureand carefully regulating the partial vacuum so as to retard, but notprevent the return flow of blood while permitting the arterial blood toflow into the capil- (39 lanes quite unobstructed. I have found thatarterial supply .a flood damming action is obtained that tends tostretch the walls of the capillaries and produce a marked stimulating'hyperemia and it is the application of this principleto the treatment ofthe scalp to which this invention relates.

If an air tight helmet is placed on the head and sealed by a suitablerubber skirt and the air exhausted so as to produce a vacuum of 20 to 40mm of mercury, the capillaries will be engorged and stretched so as toincrease their caliber and in this way a permanently increasedcirculation is obtained. The arterial blood pressure of the arteries ofthe scalp is about 80 to 90 mm of Hg. and if the vacuum is regulated sothat the pressure necessary to produce a return flow through the veinsis less than the arterial pressure, circulation will continue and at thesame time a stretching of the capillary walls be obtained. W hen theproper vacuum is used, there will be a pink glow over the area of thescalp subjected to the vacuum, but if the vacuum is high enough to stopthe return flow, the blood will not circulate and the scalp will soonassume a dark appearance.

The use of the vacuum apparatus, owing to the great care that must betaken to maintain the proper pressure, is not suitable for home use andshould be supervised by a trained technician. For home use and as anauxiliary to the vacuum treatment, a cephalic band is used. This bandencircles the head above the ears and is provided with a tensioningdevice that is calibrated to correspond to certain atmospheric pressuresand when such a band, properly tensioned, is worn, it produces an eifectsimilar to that produced by the vacuum only in that it increases bloodvolume in the constricted area. The tension of this band must becarefully adjusted so that it will exert a retarding effect equivalentto a pressure of about 2 to 6 mm of Hg. which is sufiicient to compressthe veins so as to retard the return flow to some extent but which doesnot interfere with the arterial flow.

The method described above is carried out by means of an apparatus whichhas been especially designed for the purpose and which will now bedescribed, reference for this pur- Pose being had to the accompanyingdrawings in which it has been illustrated and in which:

Fig. 1 is aside view of my improved vacuum helmet showing the same inplace on a patients head;

' Fig. 2 is a view similar to the one shown in Fig. l but which showsthe helmet in cross section;

Fig. 3 is View showing the tension band that is used as an auxiliary tothe vacuum helmet;

Fig. at is a view partly in section showing the tensioning deviceemployed with the band illustrated in Fig. 3; and

Fig. is a view looking in the direction of arrow 5, Fig. 4.

In the drawings reference numeral 1 represents a metal container whichforms part of the vacuum helmet and which is prefen ably cylindrical inshape and has one end closed by a member 2. The open edge of thecontainer has been shown as folded outwardly and then inwardly so as toproduce an annular flange 8 which extends beyond the outer surface ofthe cylindrical portion. The lower edge of the container is bentinwardly so as to provide an annular flange 4. Flange i is provided witha plurality of pins 5, whose purpose will hereinafter appear. ecure-d tothe open end of the container is a rubber skirt 6, the upper end of thisskirt encircles the flange 3 and since the skirt is so proportioned withrespect to the container that it must be stretched before it can be putin place, an airtight seal is formed between the upper edge of the skirtand the container. The skirt has conical sides and terminates in anupwardly extending flange T, which is of the proper size to fit apersons head. In order to make it possible to fit heads of varying sizesand avoid more than 40 mm of Hg. pressure of constriction the apparatusis preferably provided with a number of skirts of different sizes thatcan be substituted, one for the other when necessity requires. Locatedwithin the skirt and between the bottom of the groove, between the sidesof the skirt and flange 7, is a spacer 8. This spacer is conical and hasits upper edge bent inwardly as indicated by reference numeral 9. Flange9 is provided with openings for the reception of pins 5 and the spacerand container are therefore held against relative movement when theparts are assembled. The container is provided with a nipple 10 to whicha tube 11 is connected. This tube extends to a vacuum pump of suitableconstruction by means of which the pressure within the container isreduced to any extent desired. A pet cook or valve 12 is provided. inthe helmet for the purpose of admitting air thereinto when the vacuum isto be reduced. For the purpose of measuring the amount of vacuum withinthe helmet, I have provided a mercury manometer 13 which is connectedwith the interior of the helmet and indicates the extent of the vacuumtherein. As set out above, the optimum vacuum maintainedin the helmet isbetween and mm of Hg. and during the time that the apparatus is in use,the vacuum should be carefully controlled and maintained at a value thatgives the beat results with the patient that is operated on. As pointedout above, it is necessary to maine tain a circulation of blood in thescalp and this can be accomplished only when the vacuum within thehelmet is lower than the arterial blood pressure so that blood mayfreely enter and so that the return flow will not be completely shut offby pressure on the veins, when these conditions prevail, the capillarieswill be engorged with blood 111i stretched and this will tend toincrease their diameter so as to permit a freer circulation of bloodunder normal conditions.

The helmet above described is not suitable for home use because itssuccessful operation fit depends on a careful maintenance of the propervacuum and this can best be accomplished by a technician in charge ofthe operation. The vacuum treatment should only be used several daysapart and it is therefore desirable for the patient to have some meansof producing gentle hyperemia without the use of the vacuum apparatus,and for this purpose I have provided a cephalic band that encircles thehead in the manner shown in Fig. 3 and which can be carefully adjustedas to tension so as to get the most desirable results. The band iscomposed of a piece of suitable webbing that has been indicated byreference numeral 14:, one end of which is secured to a loop 15 at oneend of the tensioning device 16. The tensioning device consists of acasing having a fiat bottom and having a top whose center portion isprovided with a substantially semicylindrical outwardly extending groove17 within which is located a coil spring 18, one end of which isanchored at 19 and the other end of which is anchored to the upstandingtongue 20 of the slide 21. This slide is of the proper size to fit inthe casing of the tensioning device and has one edge provided withgraduations forming a scale 22 that indicates tension corresponding tocertain atmospheric pressures. The end of slide 21 has an opening 23through which the other end of the web 14 extends. This end of the webis held together by means of a clamp comprising a rectangular member 2 1whose upper portion 25 has a threaded opening for the reception of ascrew 26. A clamping plate 27 is secured to the inner end of the screwand engages one side of the double web in such a manner that when thescrew is tightened, the web will be clamped together and held inadjusted position.

The cephalic band must be adjusted so that the tension will overcomevenous pressure of the patient which is from negative to 5 mm of Hg.pressure so as to get the proper hgyperemia without interfering with theblood circulation, and this adjustment is preferably regulated by thecomfort of the patient somewhere between 2 and 6 mm Hg. of pressure, andafter the band has been adjusted, it can be applied to the head at nightor at any suitable time and worn over an extended period, therebysupplementing the effect of the helmet and getting daily treatment, andin this way the hair follicles will receive extra nourishment, wherebynormal circulation will tend to be restored and maintained without theuse of appliances.

I desire to call particular attention to the fact that the seal employedin connection with my vacuum helmet is controlled only partly by theelasticity of the portion 7 but mainly by the vacuum employed andtherefore the blood supply cannot be out off or retarded as wouldfrequently be the case if the seal constriction could not be measured.

Having described the invention what is claimed as new is:

An apparatus for use in treating the scalp by subjecting it to apressure below atmospheric, comprising a metal container having its openend provided with an external bead and an internal flange, a removablering having its wall inclined with respect to its, axis, the end of thering having the larger diameter being provided with an inwardlyextending flange, means for interconnecting the ring and the containerso as to prevent relative rotation, and a wide elastic band having oneedge located over the outwardly extending bead on the container andhaving its other edge curved over the lower edge of the ring andterminating within the ring whereby a skirt is formed which is adaptedto engage the head of the wearer.

In testimony whereof I aliix my signature.

CHARLES J. 'LoWEN.

